MANILA, Philippines – A graduate student of the country's premier state university admitted to passing off as his own a photograph that recently won a contest sponsored by the Chilean ambassador.

University of the Philippines graduate student Mark Joseph Solis made the confession when Rappler contacted him by phone on Sunday, September 22.

"I'm deeply sorry. I'm in deep remorse. Right now, I already contacted the organizers and I'm about to contact the owner to personally convey to him my deepest and personal apology," Solis said.

It turned out, he had done this at least 5 times since 2011.

The most recent photo that Solis claimed to be his won the top prize in the Smiles for the World photo contest conceptualized by Chilean Ambassador Roberto Mayorga.

It came under intense scrutiny on social networks on Sunday after the real owner of the photograph, Gregory John Smith, revealed how "an impostor...abused my copyright" to the image.

Solis submitted a photo of a boy named Nilo from Zamboanga City. The caption stated that the boy helped his father to farm seaweed.

During Chile's National Day on Wednesday, September 18, at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Solis was awarded $1,000 and roundtrip tickets to Chile and Brazil.

Smith, a social entrepreneur, said the photo belongs to the Children at Risk Foundation, which he founded. The child in the photo is from Brazil, not Zamboanga City, he said.

Smith posted a comment on a recent feature article on the ambassador claiming ownership over the photo.

Taken from Flickr

Smith pointed to his Flickr account, which contains the same photo – taken in 2006 – along with other photos of children in Brazil. The photo was titled "Neptune, King of the Sea."

At the Narinig ko sa UP (Overheard at UP) Facebook page, UP students expressed shock and anger at the apparent plagiarism.

Solis is a political science alumnus of the UP and is currently taking up his Masters in Public Administration at the National College of Public Administration and Governance.

The website of the International Association of Political Science Students says Solis is a legislative staff of Senator Pia Cayetano.

Not the first time

This was not the first time Solis joined and won a photo contest with photos taken by other people.

He sent the same photo to the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation photo contest. The caption stated this time that the child was from India.

Another photo he entered into the same contest was also from the Children At Risk Foundations' Flickr album.

In 2011, he also entered and won the first Papworth Trust's photo competition. The owner of the photo is a Flickr user who took the photo in 2008.

Solis also entered 3 photos to a sustainable development photo contest hosted by a European Union company called VinylPlus. All 3 photos were also stolen from Flickr accounts.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, which also held a photo contest in 2011, received a false entry from Solis as well. The original photo, also found on Flickr, even had a watermark on it.

Disappointed

Ambassador Mayorga expressed his deep sadness by the turn of events.

Mayorga told Rappler he only wished to show appreciation on the Calidad Humana of the Filipinos. He added that he hopes this does not tarnish the image of all Filipinos.

"The majority [of Filipinos] have plenty of Calidad Humana," Mayorga told Rappler, "Unfortunately, these kind of exceptions are the risk you have in your nice country. This shows it is necessary to take care of your good people, preserving among them the positive elements of their personality."

READ: 'Calidad Humana' and exporting the Filipino smile

Mayorga said that they will conduct an investigation into the matter. But he warned that Solis' conduct may forfeit his award.

Solis said he will meet with the contest organizers on Monday. – Rappler.com

do you know this guy?

Other Affiliations:
University of the Philippines Diliman, Department of Political Science, Undergraduate

Research Interests:
Public Administration, Public Policy Analysis, Regional and Local Governance, and 2 more

About:
Mark Joseph Tajo Solis is a BA Political Science senior at the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines-Diliman, where he is a Diwa ng Magdalo Foundation and Wilfredo Keng Foundation scholar. From 2010 to 2011, he studied as a JASSO Fellow at the Kyushu University in Japan, took advanced courses under the Comparative Studies of Politics and Administration in Asia Graduate Program of the Faculty of Law, and served as a Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Social and Cultural Studies. His research interests revolve around decentralization and urbanization studies, peace and conflict studies, environmental politics, and comparative public administration.

Prior to his fellowship, Mark served as a regional intern in 2009 at the World Youth Alliance Asia Pacific, where he handled youth forums and social outreach initiatives, and then joined the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation as a social media desk cadet in the summer of 2010. A year after, he received the JENESYS Student Ambassadorial Grant from the Japanese Government-Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was also awarded a debate scholarship to Thailand by the Open Society Institute and International Debate Education Association. This year, he was named a Tunza Eco-generation Regional Ambassador for Southeast Asia by the United National Environment Programme.

A prolific academic writer, Mark’s papers have already been presented in several international conferences in South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, and the Philippines. Recently, his thesis entitled “Confronting Notoriety: The Rise of Warlordism and the Road to Peace in Southern Philippines” received a grant from the Southeast Asian Human Rights Studies Network (SEAHRN) and is bound for presentation in this year’s SEAHRN International Conference on Peace and Conflict in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Papers

Confronting Notoriety: The Rise of Warlordism and the Road to Peace in Southern Philippines

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is organizing a Digital Photo Contest on the theme of ‘Water and Life' to celebrate its 30th Anniversary. This contest also coincides with the United Nation’s International Year of Water Cooperation 2013.

apparently, this kid chose to put our alma mater, UP, to shame through this kind of act because he only wanted to win the trip to South America. well... he should have asked us in the alumni for help if that was really the case. we in the alumni can pay for his one-way ticket to Rio if he only asked.

UP student apologizes for plagiarism

I am writing to you to express my deep remorse and sincerest apologies for claiming your photo as mine. As the rightful owner of the photo, you deserve my initial thoughts and statement about this.

Your photo was one of the most heartwarming photos I have ever seen, and I could only wish that I had the ability to capture such moments as well as you did. I kept it as wallpaper in my computer – an enduring reminder of what every amateur photographer should aspire for.

Unfortunately, I was driven by my youth, lack of experience, and the inability to see the repercussions of my actions. The sheer amount of the prize, the stiff competition, and the unique opportunity to be abroad blinded me from undertaking what is supposed to be an honest and a rightful conduct. It was a regrettable lapse on my judgment, and no words can express how sorry I am for taking your photo as mine.

I am now in close contact with the organizers, conveyed my apologies, and sought their opinion on the matter and how to proceed from here. I am surrendering everything that has been given to me in this competition, actually and virtually, and I take full responsibility for a disgraceful action and a grave moral lapse on my part. This recent turn of events has taught me to become humble, to have foresight, to be sensitive for the works of others, and ultimately, to take responsibility for my action.

Again, I am in deep remorse for what I did. I am truly sorry, Sir Gregory.

Prior to his fellowship, Mark served as a regional intern in 2009 at the World Youth Alliance Asia Pacific, where he handled youth forums and social outreach initiatives, and then joined the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation as a social media desk cadet in the summer of 2010. A year after, he received the JENESYS Student Ambassadorial Grant from the Japanese Government-Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was also awarded a debate scholarship to Thailand by the Open Society Institute and International Debate Education Association. This year, he was named a Tunza Eco-generation Regional Ambassador for Southeast Asia by the United National Environment Programme.

I am writing to you to express my deep remorse and sincerest apologies for claiming your photo as mine. As the rightful owner of the photo, you deserve my initial thoughts and statement about this.

Your photo was one of the most heartwarming photos I have ever seen, and I could only wish that I had the ability to capture such moments as well as you did. I kept it as wallpaper in my computer – an enduring reminder of what every amateur photographer should aspire for.

Unfortunately, I was driven by my youth, lack of experience, and the inability to see the repercussions of my actions. The sheer amount of the prize, the stiff competition, and the unique opportunity to be abroad blinded me from undertaking what is supposed to be an honest and a rightful conduct. It was a regrettable lapse on my judgment, and no words can express how sorry I am for taking your photo as mine.

I am now in close contact with the organizers, conveyed my apologies, and sought their opinion on the matter and how to proceed from here. I am surrendering everything that has been given to me in this competition, actually and virtually, and I take full responsibility for a disgraceful action and a grave moral lapse on my part. This recent turn of events has taught me to become humble, to have foresight, to be sensitive for the works of others, and ultimately, to take responsibility for my action.

Again, I am in deep remorse for what I did. I am truly sorry, Sir Gregory.